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Trust. Respect. Access. Campaign in the News

Last week, Texas Research Institute partnered with six organizations to launch Trust. Respect. Access., a campaign aimed at restoring access to the full range of reproductive health care in Texas. TRI, ACLU of Texas, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, Texas Freedom Network and Whole Woman's Health joined State Reps. Mary Gonzalez, Donna Howard and Jessica Farrar at a press conference at the state Capitol announcing the launch of the campaign.

"Abortion-rights organizations and a handful of lawmakers launched a campaign Thursday to promote reproductive rights in Texas… “History has shown that because people are vocal over time eventually you have success,” said Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Houston Democrat who has introduced a measure to eliminate the mandatory 24-hour waiting period between a sonogram and an abortion procedure.Abortion-rights organizations and a handful of lawmakers launched a campaign Thursday to promote reproductive rights in Texas… “History has shown that because people are vocal over time eventually you have success,” said Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Houston Democrat who has introduced a measure to eliminate the mandatory 24-hour waiting period between a sonogram and an abortion procedure."

"The aim is to introduce bills to reverse or alleviate the damage caused by anti-choice laws, educate the public, and hold lawmakers accountable for the promises that they make...Dinorah Martinez, a South Texas community health worker with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health said onerous reproductive health laws have gravely impacted the women she sees on a daily basis...'To Texas legislators I say: Stop interfering with our human rights, stop putting off our health care, stop endangering our families.'”

"Lawmakers introduced four specific bills as part of the effort: House Bill 78, which would revamp human sexuality classes to include more information about birth control; House Bill 468, which would allow mothers as young as 15 access to contraception without parental consent; House Bill 709, which would eliminate the 24-hour waiting period for an abortion; House Bill 1210, which would protect medical professionals from having to provide legally-mandated information about abortion."

"[C]oalition members said they are in the fight for the long term, hoping to build on the momentum from the 2013 session that brought thousands of orange-clad reproductive rights supporters to the capitol building in opposition to the state’s omnibus anti-abortion law, HB 2."

"Now, huge swaths of the state don’t have any abortion clinics. Low-income and rural women’s health care access in particular is hanging in the balance...[P]ro-choice advocates say they’re seeking to raise awareness about how Texas’ current laws are harming the residents of the state. They want to educate the public as well as hold their colleagues accountable for approving what they say are “dangerous” laws."